To your # R834-835-836.

1. The Central Committee has no objection to the 10-million-dollar order being taken out of Kerzhentsev's hands, provided that you personally take the matter into your hands with all your energy in view of its exceptional importance and urgency.

2. The reports about the size are unfounded and the order remains in full force.

3. We reiterate the need to fulfill the previous order for 12 million with all vigor.

4. The necessary precautions must in no case lead to the actual cancelation of these extremely important orders.

On behalf of the Politburo Lenin.

Secretary of the TseKa V. Mikhailov.

Fond 2, op. 1, d. 21514 - autograph of L.D.Trotsky, signature and addition - autograph of V.I.Lenin.

1The text of the published telegram is written by L.D.Trotsky at the end of his note to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) of October 21, 1921: "I draw attention to the purely workmanlike character of the telegram of Vol. Krasin.

If he does not trust Kerzhentsev's apparatus, no one prevents him from taking the matter into his own hands - in order to really fulfill it, and not to sabotage it.

The reasoning about the caliber of our rifles is ridiculous. After all, we have all rifles and cartridges of that caliber. Well, he, on the occasion of the purchase of 150,000 rifle[s] proposes to remake it all in passing! (NB - the caliber of Japanese rifles is smaller than ours, however, they beat us). The Germans want to equalize our caliber with theirs (for orders), a little more - so they criticize. -

I propose to send Krasin the following telegram:" (RCCHIDNI, f. 2, op. 1, d. 21514).

This proposal of Trotsky was discussed at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) on October 22 and it was decided: "To instruct Tov. Mikhailov to send Tov. Krasin a telegram in code signed by Tov. Lenin and the Secretary of the Central Committee." (RCCHIDNI, f. 17, op. 3, d. 222, l. 1).

This refers to the purchase of rifles and machine guns of the Russian system of American manufacture (see doc. 326) and the ordering of cartridges for them from German industrialists, which took place in May 1921 (see doc. 295).